Transparent conducting F-doped SnO2 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Transparent conducting fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO₂:F) films have been deposited on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the SnO₂:F films have been investigated as a function of F-doping level and substrate deposition temperature. The optimum target composition for high conductivity was found to be 10 wt.% SnF₂ + 90 wt.% SnO₂. Under optimized deposition conditions (T_s = 300 °C, and 7.33 Pa of O₂), electrical resistivity of 5 × 10^? 4 Ω-cm, sheet resistance of 12.5 Ω/□, average optical transmittance of 87% in the visible range, and optical band-gap of 4.25 eV were obtained for 400 nm thick SnO₂:F films. Atomic force microscopy measurements for these SnO₂:F films indicated that their root-mean-square surface roughness ( 6 Å) was superior to that of commercially available chemical vapor deposited SnO₂:F films ( 85 Å).